Sanofi-Aventis

Sanofi-Aventis is one of Europe's largest pharmaceutical companies and is based in Paris, France. The company manufactures the allergy medicine Allegra. Its six therapeutic categories are: internal medicine and allergies, cardiovascular, thrombosis (blood clots), central nervous system disorders cancer and metabolic conditions. The company's top selling drugs are the blood thinners Plavix (which it markets with Bristol-Myers Squibb) and Lovenox; the cancer drugs Taxotere and Eloxatine; insulin brand Lantus and Ambien for insomnia. It is also one of the largest vaccine manufacturers, through its Sanofi Pasteur subsidiary.

In the fiscal year ending in December of 2008, Sanofi-Aventis reported 40.6 billion dollars in sales and had 98,213 employees.

Aventis, WWII & Auschwitz
During WWI, Bayer had a close association with other German chemical companies, including BASF and Hoechst (now Sanofi-Aventis). This relationship led to the 1925 with merger of these companies, as well as AGFA, and others, to form IG Farben Trust in 1925. Auschwitz was the largest mass extermination factory in human history. However, few people are aware that Auschwitz was a 100% subsidiary of IG Farben. On April 14, 1941, in Ludwigshafen, Otto Armbrust, the IG Farben board member responsible for the Auschwitz project, stated to board colleagues:


 * "our new friendship with the SS is a blessing. We have determined all measures integrating the concentration camps to benefit our company."

Thousands of prisoners died during human experiments, drug and vaccine testing. Before longtime Bayer employee and SS Auschwitz doctor Helmut Vetter was executed for administering fatal infections, he wrote to his bosses at Bayer headquarters:


 * "I have thrown myself into my work wholeheartedly. Especially as I have the opportunity to test our new preparations. I feel like I am in paradise."

After WWII, I.G. Farben attempted to shake its abominable image through corporate restructuring and renaming. So great has been their success that the public has no idea that it many of the men responsible for such atrocities, were able to carry on their work even after the collapse of the Nazi regime. Namely a medical paradigm that relies almost exclusively highly toxic drugs. Such men were in control of the large chemical and pharmaceutical companies, both well before and after Hitler. The Nuremberg Tribunal convicted 24 IG Farben board members and executives on the basis of mass murder, slavery and other crimes. Incredibly, most of them had been released by 1951 and continued to consult with German corporations. The Nuremberg Tribunal dissolved the IG Farben into Bayer, Hoechst and BASF, each company 20 times as large as IG Farben in 1944. For almost three decades after WWII, BASF, Bayer and Hoechst (Aventis) filled their highest position, chairman of the board, with former members of the Nazi regime. See also Bayer.

Animal testing
Sanofi-Aventis does animal testing.

Facility information, progress reports & USDA-APHIS reports
For links to copies of this facility's U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) reports, other information and links, see also Facility Reports and Information: Sanofi Aventis, Bridgewater, New Jersey.

USDA AWA reports
As of May 26, 2009, the USDA began posting all inspection reports for animal breeders, dealers, exhibitors, handlers, research facilities and animal carriers by state. See also USDA Animal Welfare Inspection Reports

Contract testing
Sanofi-Aventis contract tests out to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). HLS is the 3rd largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world and the largest animal testing facility in all of Europe. Firms hire CROs to conduct animal toxicity tests for agrochemicals, petrochemicals, household products, pharmaceutical drugs and toxins. HLS has a long history of gross animal welfare violations. See also Huntingdon Life Sciences.

H5N1 Influenza virus vaccine
See also H5N1 Influenza Virus Vaccine.

Toxic antibiotic trial
In 2006, an antibiotic from Sanofi-Aventis continued to be used in drug trials with more than 900 children worldwide, even after it was found to cause four times the average rate of acute liver failure in adults. The continued trials of the drug Ketek (Telithromycin) were criticized by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FD) official and a study consultant.

Initially, Sanofi-Aventis defended the antibiotic as safe when used as directed. However, after a flurry of negative reports, the company announced on June 8, 2006, that it was voluntarily ceasing the Ketek trials involving children. The FDA also ceased recruitment for the study.

The criticism before Sanofi-Aventis' reversal was scathing.


 * "How does one justify balancing the risk of fatal liver failure against one day less of ear pain?" asked Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang, of the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, in a memo uncovered by the New York Times.

Duke University infectious disease specialist, Dr. Danny Benjamin called the pediatric trial "hard to support." He also noted that antibiotics are less frequently recommended for pediatric treatment of routine ear infections.

Scamming the poor
In May 2009, the Sanofi-Aventis-owned subsidiary Aventis Pharmaceutical was fined more than $95 million, "after overcharging US and local health agencies for medications destined for indigent patients" according to U.S. federal prosecutors. Aventis "acknowledged that it violated the False Claims Act by misreporting drug prices for patients in the Medicaid Drug Rebate program for poor patients," reported Agence France-Presse. Aventis "deliberately misquoted the prices, underpaying rebates to Medicaid and overcharging some public health agencies for the medications. The fraud occurred between 1995 and 2000, and concerned the steroid-based anti-inflammatory nasal sprays Azmacort, Nasacort and Nasacort AQ. 'We will continue to be vigilant in investigating and prosecuting those who scam the Medicaid system -- a system that is meant to benefit the poor' said Michael Loucks, acting US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, in the Justice Department statement. 'When a drug company agrees to be a provider to the Medicaid programs, it agrees to sell its drugs to them at the same price it gives its best customers. We will, as here, pursue those who break their promises.'"

Public relations
Americans for Medical Progress's (AMP) board of directors consists of senior executives and other representatives employed by the pharmaceutical and vivisection industries. Board members represent multinational, billion dollar corporations as well as universities and institutions receiving government grants for vivisection. AMP runs media campaigns targeting animal rights, welfare and health advocacy groups. See also Americans for Medical Progress.

In February 2007, PR Week reported that Sanofi-Aventis' vaccine business, Sanofi Pasteur, had "awarded business for half its product lines, including its candidate 5-in-1 vaccine Pentacel, to Publicis Public Relations." The contract is "a joint collaboration between Manning Selvage & Lee and Publicis Consultants PR, Publicis' newly rebranded PR offering." The firms will also be promoting "Adacel, the new Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) vaccine for adolescents and adults," added PR Week.

Lobbying
The company spent $8,352,000.00 on lobbying in 2009. Some firms used were the Duberstein Group, Capitol Counsel and Ricchetti, Inc.

Political contributions
Sanofi-Aventis gave $136,405 to federal candidates in the 2008 U.S. election through its political action committee (PAC) - 56% to Democrats, 44% to Republicans, and 4% to other parties.

Key executives

 * Serge Weinberg, Chairman
 * Chris Viehbacher, CEO
 * Jérôme Contamine, Executive VP & CFO

Public relations

 * Cressida Ward, Communications Director

Board members

 * Jean-François Dehecq - Chairman
 * Chris Viehbacher - CEO
 * Uwe Bicker - Director
 * Jean-Marc Bruel - Director
 * Robert Castaigne - Director
 * Patrick de La Chevardière, Director
 * Thierry Desmarest - Director
 * Lord Douro - Director
 * Jean-René Fourtou - Director
 * Claudie Haigneré - Director
 * Igor Landau, Director
 * Christian Mulliez - Director
 * Lindsay Owen-Jones - Director
 * Klaus Pohle - Director
 * Serge Weinberg - Director
 * Gérard Van Kemmel - Director

Contact
French headquarters 174 avenue de France 75013 Paris France

Phone: (33) 1 5377 4000

Phone (Media): (33) 1 5377 4076

Fax (33) 1 5377 4174

Web address: http://en.sanofi-aventis.com/

U.S. office 55 Corporate Drive Bridgewater, NJ 08807 USA

Phone: 800-981-2491

Web address: http://www.sanofi-aventis.us/live/us/en

SourceWatch articles

 * American Cancer Society
 * Animal testing
 * Direct-to-consumer advertising in the United States
 * Food and Drug Administration
 * Huntingdon Life Sciences
 * National Primate Research Center System
 * Patient Groups
 * Pharmaceutical industry
 * Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
 * Sanofi-Aventis/stats, details
 * War on Cancer
 * Thierry Desmarest

External articles

 * Jo Revill, "Cancer drug firm's PR trip sparks a row: MPs and charity officials defend paid-for visit to see 'gold standard' treatment at French hospital, The Observer, July 2, 2006